


Last Call

by MeltyRum



Category: Fate/EXTRA, VA-11 Hall-A (Video Game), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:34:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22337113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeltyRum/pseuds/MeltyRum
Summary: Tamamo and Dana, who ply their talents for opposing clans, meet briefly.
Collections: Boku no Hero Academia x Persona





	Last Call

The bar was a bit smaller than she’d expected from the outside. With no more than a single counter for its patrons—before which sat a mere six or seven seats—it seemed like the kind of place that would attract a small cabal of regulars, since that was the only amount of people this quaint, nicely-lit place would be able to fit.

Yet, other than the bartender (bartendress?) herself, Dana appeared to be the only person inside the establishment.

“Looks like I’m the only patron,” she observed aloud, taking a seat across from where the bartender waited.

“For now!” answered the barkeep. Her cute fox-like ears perked excitedly and her face wore a smile, but something in it seemed slightly guarded. Perhaps non-regulars truly _were_ unusual. In greeting, she raised her hands and folded them into cute little fox silhouettes, thumbs pressed against her middle and ring fingers. “What may I prepare for you?”

Dana couldn’t resist smiling. “Whatever you recommend. I’ve heard you make a good drink, so I’ve been meaning to come here for a while,” she said, crossing her arms up onto the bar.

“I’m a little surprised to hear you say that,” said the bartender, her face still wearing a nervous smile and wary eyes as she went about gathering the appropriate materials. Her hands moved mechanically, but carefully—gracefully—and her ears stayed perfectly stiff, as though listening for any disturbance. “Considering who you are, I am sure you know what this place is—who it belongs to?”

Dana nodded. “Yes, Nomae-san, I know. Hakuho. Tojo. Maybe there are some other names there, but I’m just here for a drink, I promise—it isn’t my job to go causing trouble. I’m off duty, you know?”

“Then why come here?” asked Tamamo. “The people who visit most often are all your enemies,” she pointed out, carefully stirring some fluids together so that they magically formed a blue color in the cocktail glass. “Or to put it more directly, _we_ are enemies.”

“I don’t think there’s any reason for that to be the case.”

The fox-girl took a moment to consider that, setting her stirring stick aside beforegently pushing the drink across the bar with both hands and sporting an expression that implied she was worried for Dana’s safety, rather than her own. “Do you not think our clans are at odds?”

Dana smiled as she took the drink, pleased to field this question. “At odds, sure. But we’re more like… competitors? That doesn’t mean we have to be fighting each other all the time. I don’t see Big Bang employees attacking Wild Duck. At least, not in broad daylight.”

Tamamo returned the smile. “An odd thing to say, for one of Shimada-kaichou’s personal guards. You must find yourself in many fights.”

She shrugged. “The job is deterrence, really—not fighting. There’ve been incidents in the past, so it’s good to have people on hand.”

Tamamo chuckled dryly. “Surely you have seen your share of violence. They say you are undefeated,Dana Zane-san.”

“That’s me, and that’s what they say. But it’s not as though I’ve heard about any of your defeats, either. Point being: you can’t be defeated if you don’t fight—so I try not to, is all. This is delicious, by the way; thank you.” To emphasize, she took another sip of the drink, somewhat relieved and refreshed that it didn’t taste as sweet as it looked. “Anyway, people like to talk, so being undefeated and being _called_ undefeated are a little different,” she added, carefully choosing not to admit directly to any losses.

She allowed for a pause in the atmosphere, trying to read the expression on Tamamo’s face. Did it look… worried? Incredulous? She could have sworn she saw the fox-girl’s eyes dart to her glass for just a moment.

“Are you alright? I promise this isn’t some weird intimidation tactic, or something. I don’t do that sort of thing; not my job,” said Dana, doing her best to give Tamamo a reassuring smile as she set the drink back down.

“No… I am just a little surprised that you decided to drink it so readily. I would have expected a little hesitation.” Her face exhibited the kind of pitying concern that one might see on the face of a teacher about to explain to her student why the laws of physics would preclude their dreams of growing up to be a jet engine.

“Because we’re ‘enemies’?”

Tamamo said nothing.

Dana shrugged, smiling. “Well, even if you think we’re enemies, you served me. That means I’m welcome here, right? Wouldn’t want to be rude, so I just had to roll the dice and hope you didn’t poison me. And you seem like a gracious host; on that note, do you sell any snacks?” She looked around the shop, suddenly having a strong craving for cashews.

After a brief pause where she was no doubt considering Dana’s logic, Tamamo gave her a graceful nod before springing into action and assembling a little plate of colorful items, each of which she carefully lifted from a series of appealingly-huedjars that lined the shelf underneath all of the liquor bottles. There was a shift in Tamamo’s demeanor, as there had been when she was mixing the drink—she was, no doubt, a consummate professional, who took pleasure in her work and was eager to show it off.

“I recommend the inari if this is not enough—and there is no poison here either, naturally,” Tamamo promised, sliding the plate close and rotating it so the presentation was just right. “But I think you will be taken advantage of, Zane-san. This bar sells information, too, you know? I know people who might be interested in knowing you came here.”

“You can call me Dana, if you want. Anyway, for better or worse, I’m not that interesting, so I don’t know how far that info will go. Speaking of information, though, there _have_ been a few rumors about the Hakuho family patriarch. How much do you charge for that? Or maybe I don’t get to hear about it, being from a different clan.” She helped herself to a pickled… something, pleased with the acidic flavor.

She also couldn’t help but notice the suspicious look on Tamamo’s face, which had accompanied this sudden shift in conversation topic. There had been a few interesting tidbits floating around regarding this bartender and the Hakuho patriarch; could it be those rumors were true, too? Or was this fox-girl simply practicing caution as a member of the family in question?

“What sort of rumors might you be thinking of?” asked Tamamo politely, her smile looking particularly dangerous.

Dana weighed her options, uncertain if it was worth choosing her words delicately. It wasn’t as though she came here just to offend Tamamo, but her curiosity—perhaps less charitably referred to as a momentary lust for gossip—meant that she didn’t want to drop the subject entirely…

“There have been murmurs of the Hakuho patriarch hurting his own men. Well—I guess that’s not that unusual, for yakuza. But it sounds like it’s been cruel, flippant, and non-proportionate punishment, like… stabbings and stuff—supposedly for saying the wrong name at the wrong time.” That about summed up any knowledge Dana had of the situation, but—as she’d told Tamamo earlier—people like to talk. It was possible these rumors came out of thin air; perhaps they even originated from the Shimada ranks as harmless trash talking from an underground mahjong game—or something like it—a rumor with no more truth to it than any old fairy tale.

The way that Tamamo’s hackles rose assured Dana that this was not the case, however.

“Mine-sama is not cruel or flippant,” she said curtly.

Dana nodded. “I didn’t mean to say he was—just that people are saying his _punishments_ are.”

Tamamo bristled a little, but gracefully held her tongue for a moment, swallowing whatever retort had first sprung to mind. Dana certainly hadn’t planned on causing any trouble here, but she knew that she was treading upon thin ice with this conversation—it would be hard to blame anyone for thinking she came here on some sort of mission of antagonism for the Shimada. But… as far as she could tell, it was still only herself and Tamamo here. There wouldn’t be much point in throwing her weight around for the benefit of “intimidating” a single woman.

“Does that mean the rumors are false?” prompted Dana, since her bartender seemed to be in no hurry to commit to this conversation.

“Mine-sama would never do something undeserved,” insisted Tamamo, her face slowly reddening as she flicked her tail irritably.

“You sound pretty confident about that.”

She nodded, her expression softening a little, given the chance to explain. “Unlike _other_ members of the Tojo family, Mine-sama did not earn his power by beating the people in his way. He is smarter and more careful than that—that’s why the Hakuho is one of the richest families, after all.”

“So… hurting his men somehow helps his bottom line, then?” asked Dana innocently.

Tamamo hesitated. Maybe she simply didn’t know the answers to all these questions. But her emphatic defense of him—so far—did seem to make _one_ thing pretty clear.

Dana sipped at her drink. “It sounds as though your loyalty to him is more than professional, Nomae-san. Or am I mistaken?”

The ruddiness in Tamamo’s cheeks took on a more elegant hue of pink. It was obvious that she was torn between opposing desires: one to gush about her crush and one to withhold information from the enemy.“It is my pleasure to serve Mine-sama and the Hakuho clan; all I have wanted is for my efforts to be counted among the Hakuho’s contributions to the Tojo—although Mine-sama deserves even more of me.I can see that people are attempting to spoil his reputation,but mark my words! The people of our clans will one day tell stories about Mine-sama and the _modern_ strength he possesses—the way he unites honest yakuza and fruitful business. And… hopefully, I’ll be in his story, too,” she concluded, somewhat breathlessly.

Dana allowed herself a few more tsukemono and a few more tastes of her mysterious blue drink, chewing the words while she crunched on the pickles. She wasn’t particularly convinced: this foxy bartender liked Mine… just because he’s the one whom she served? Or did she serve him _by virtue_ of liking him? The whole situation seemed a bit unlikely. “Huh. That’s some devotion, although a little old-fashioned; I’m kind of jealous,” she admitted eventually, smiling wistfully.

Tamamo blinked. “But… you work directly beneath the patriarch!” she protested, apparently making no efforts to hide the envy she felt regarding Dana’s rung on the ladder. “You could only do so if you were important—if you were recognized,” she added, with a longing that resonated somewhat uncomfortably in this cramped little watering hole.

She shrugged. “I’m just muscle, though. Managing a bar sounds way better, if you ask me. It’s been a dream of mine for a long time,” she replied, resignedly shaking her head and destroying a piece of pickled radish. She looked back up as something crossed her mind, however. “Want to trade places? Then you can have a Romeo and Juliet thing with Mine, too.”

Tamamo held her chin in hand and leaned forward upon the bar as she entertained this romantic notion. It rather looked as though she was considering it very seriously. “No, that wouldn’t work,” she said eventually, followed by a lovesick sigh. “He doesn’t feel that way about me yet.”

“Is that a fact?”

She nodded, looking defeated. “I met him in person once and I think he thought I was crazy.”

For some reason, Dana didn’t find this surprising. “Well, that doesn’t seem unreasonable; you probably hear about him a lot, so that makes you feel like you know him well enough to have formed a relationship with him—but that relationship doesn’t actually exist, because he doesn’t know anything about you. At least, nothing that doesn’t have to do with work. Actually, couldn’t you say the same about him? It almost sounds like you like him because he’s… good at business?”

“That sort of thing is important in this line of work! I’m in business too, you know. But he’s also smart and commanding and firm—and considering the ‘extralegal’ nature of the realm in which we conduct our business, his position is especially impressive. Outside of being by his side, serving him is all I’ve ever wanted!” she announced, with a prideful glow that made Dana wonder if the two of them were really involved in the same conversation.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but that still doesn’t inform me _why_ you want to serve him; you didn’t exactly pick him, did you? Everyone at Mine’s level is commanding and business-minded—and I’d wager most of them are smart. People at our position, on the other hand… if you’re like me, you sort of ended up involved with the yakuza by accident. That came before you knew about Mine, right? If all you want is to serve, would anyone do?”

“Well, no—Mine-sama just happens to be perfect! So I’ll serve him from here until he wants me closer at hand. We would make a formidable couple!” said Tamamo, apparently pleased to be able to speak on her favorite topic.

Dana scratched her head, feeling as though this woman direly needed to take a step back and examine herself. “Falling in love is all well and good—and I get that bit, believe me—but promptly placing yourself into the role of the wife is… it’s too sudden for most people. Not everyone will fall for their love-struck fan.”

Tamamo seemed prepared to answer this challenge. “Then he’s all the greater for resisting me!” A slightly jealous look appeared on her face. “For now.”

Dana suppressed a sigh, deciding to let out a chuckle instead. “Well, I guess liking someone doesn’t have to make sense, and it’s not like I came here just to question you on this, but… maybe you should think about changing your approach—from one woman to another, you know?”

The bartender looked surprised, but she eventually gave her customer a gracious nod. “While I cannot promise I will apply it, I appreciate your advice, Dana-san.” She began to busy herself with making another drink, this one looking more like the sunset color of her tail. “And what about you? While I am sure it was in jest, you _did_ offer to trade places with me. If you’re dissatisfied with your job, you should think about a change, as well.”

Dana laughed again, shaking her head. “You know it’s not that easy.”

“On the contrary! I am sure the last thing Shimada-kaichou wants is a someone whose heart is not attached to her job—particularly when her job is protecting his life,” said Tamamo with a gossipy smile, as she carefully presented the new drink to her customer.

Dana set aside her empty glass, taking this timely new one in hand. Was she about to start complaining to Tamamo about her job? She was at a bar, after all.

“Can’t retire from the yakuza. Or if you do, it’ll cost something hefty, like your arm.”

“I find that there are many things you can buy with a few words,” said Tamamo sagely. “That is always a cheaper price than an arm.”

Dana frowned doubtfully. “What are you suggesting?”

“Talk to him! You won’t know if he will let you move on unless you speak to him about it,” she said, making perfect sense. Indeed, Tamamo _did_ seem the type to speak her mind on any and all occasion.

Dana shook her head, though. “If I talk to him about this, it’d have to be in some fancy tatami room while I’ve got both knees and a forehead pressed to the floor, and I’m no good at that kind of thing.”

“Well, you certainly know the Shimada rokudaime better than I do,” conceded the fox-girl. “But as I mentioned earlier, half-hearted protection is likely not at all what he is looking for. He’s an important man—even if he’s an enemy.”

Dana considered that for a moment. She was surprised at the practicality of the advice—and it was true that Hanzo probably wouldn’t make a fuss about her yearning for something different, but this had been her job for a while. Would it really be alright for her to drop it because of some boredom? Plus…

“Even if he listened, I doubt I would be dismissed from the clan just like that.”

“If managing a bar is what you really want, you can do that even if you’re yakuza,” said Tamamo, her ears and tail fidgeting pointedly. “It goes without saying that the Shimada control some places of their own—make your chairman appoint you to one.”

“ _Make_ him?” Dana chuckled again, imagining Hanzo’s reaction to such a demand as she sipped her sour drink. “Much as I like Shimada-kaichou, I’d rather not have to answer to him anymore. But I suppose working an establishment—even a yakuza one—would be a good start.”

Tamamo gave her a knowing nod. “Of course—and then you could be my Shimada counterpart. You should know that I won’t lose, though!” Her smile glowed with confidence.

“I guess it _was_ me that said we were competitors,” Dana admitted. “But you’re probably right: I probably couldn’t beat this any time soon. Though I think I’d want mine to feel a little more like a dive, anyway.” Of course, with her lack of managerial or bartending experience, Dana would be _lucky_ to be handed the reins to even the dankest of drinking dens.

The bartender looked slightly offended. “That’s old-fashioned. A bar these days should be elegant and welcoming. Not… dark. Or moist.”

Dana smiled. “Well, you can’t help the things you long for.”

She pushed her glass away and got to her feet, deciding it would be imprudent to drink much more. “I’ll just copy what you said earlier, Nomae-san: I can’t promise to use your advice, but I appreciate the conversation.”

Tamamo gave a graceful little bow from behind the bar. “I am happy you enjoyed your visit, Dana-san. Do recommend me to your friends!”

Was she trying to get more Shimada men with loose lips in here? Dana tried to hide her amusement. “Maybe I will. What do I owe you for the service?”

A scheming smile spread across her face as her animal ears perked up mischievously. “Hmm! Why don’t we keep your tab open for now, Dana-san? If it pleased you so much, I’m sure I could count on your repeat custom.”

Dana smiled. “Considering what I came here to ask you about, I’m surprised you’d ever want to see my face again.” She enjoyed a thoughtful pause, looking around the bar again. “But if that’s what you want, then sure—we’ll settle that some other time. Have a good one, Nomae-san. See that you don’t get on Mine’s bad side, yourself.”


End file.
